His forehead throbbed faintly, and anger rose in Hizashi Hyuga's heart. This Caged Bird that shackled his freedom could only be broken by death.
A difference of just a few seconds, and the gap between him and his brother was worlds apart. Their abilities were clearly similar, so did being part of the Main Family or the Branch Family really matter that much?
The veins around his eyes bulged as his all-seeing Byakugan fixed on the figure before him. The presence beneath that Three-Eyed Demon Fox mask was so faint that Hizashi's pupils contracted.
"Which clan are you from? You have no presence at all. There's no chakra or chakra network either. What are you trying to say?"
"A caged bird, trapped behind bars, living only to die for someone else. What do you want to become?"
"A lone bird with its wings broken, imprisoned in a cage? Or a star that tears open the night with its fangs and blood, burning with the flames of war?"
The phantom faded away. The hazy morning mist quietly dispersed, and the first rays of sunrise appeared on the distant horizon, driving away the fog that clung to him.
The strange figure vanished with the mist. Hizashi stood there for a long time, his thoughts in turmoil.
"Genjutsu? That strange feeling was... a lone bird imprisoned in a cage, a star burning with the flames of war. Blood and battle on fire?"
"Can the Branch Family, whose freedom is shackled, really start a war that seems impossible to ignite and turn it against the Main Family?"
Staring blankly into space, Hizashi remained silent. Just who was that child?
Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Hanazuki residence on the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan compound,
Hanazuki propped his cheek on one hand as he flipped through a book with the other, his eyes glinting thoughtfully.
"Destroying the optic nerve and shutting out the light, yet the Mist Hidden still managed to steal a Byakugan. The Hyuga Clan—a distorted, twisted, cold-blooded family that exploits its own kin. So this is what they're like?"
"A Cursed Seal designed specifically to target the optic nerve. If it only makes the wearer die and then come back to life, it still can't protect the Byakugan? What a troublesome Cursed Seal."
Beside the tea table lay an urgent gold-lettered wanted notice issued by the Hyuga Clan and delivered by a Konoha Anbu operative. Ao's name sat prominently at the top.
"To preserve the purity of their bloodline, they have no choice but to marry within the clan and ensure their Kekkei Genkai is passed down. So that's what all the Kekkei Genkai clans do."
Marrying outsiders and blending bloodlines, then having their children marry within the clan—that was how the great clans operated. Hinata, a member of the Hyuga Main Family, marrying into another clan wasn't unheard of, but it was exceedingly rare.
After all, they couldn't exactly make the Seventh Hokage change his name to Hyuga. Compared to this enslavement of their own kin, the arrogant and conceited Uchiha Clan was leagues ahead of the Hyuga when it came to unity.
As Hanazuki mused and examined himself, his gaze drifted toward the doorway.
"So, what brings you here, Obito?"
Uchiha Obito, who usually wore a sunny smile and was hardly any smarter than an idiot, gave him a mischievous look before setting three gifts down beside him.
Each gift had a note written in delicate handwriting. After scanning the signatures, Hanazuki understood why Obito had rushed over in such high spirits.
"These are wartime conditions. We could be sent to the battlefield by the village as soon as tomorrow, and there's no telling where we might die. If you're a man, what's there to hesitate about?"
"Choose! Kurenai or Anko? Or maybe that shy girl named Yugao?"
"Damn it, I'm still so jealous! Why do so many girls like you? I can't even confess without getting rejected! Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
The boomerang he'd thrown had come right back and hit him. Hanazuki pretended to think for a moment, then slowly shook his head under Obito's expectant gaze.
"What do you mean? Didn't you just say there was no reason to hesitate if you're a man?"
As Obito stared at him in confusion, Hanazuki put away the notes and answered without a hint of shame.
"I'm an attack helicopter. I can also be a Walmart shopping bag, or an adult... I can choose none of them, or I can have them all. But you probably wouldn't understand."
At Hanazuki's look of pity for an idiot, Obito froze, then loudly denounced his immoral behavior.
"So being a genius means you can do whatever you want? Damn it, once I awaken my Sharingan, I'll make Rin change her mind! Damn it..."
Thoroughly crushed, Obito stormed off to train. Hanazuki clicked his tongue, his eyes full of rueful admiration.
He really had it rough. At an age when he couldn't even control his own fate, he was trying to grasp a kind of love that even adults couldn't attain. Wasn't that another glimpse of this cruel world?
"Lord Hanazuki, the Third Hokage has ordered you to proceed immediately to the border of the Land of Earth. The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Both Scales, has mobilized."
At some point, a man in a white cloak had appeared. A member of the Hokage's personal Anbu, he spoke in a low voice.
"Elephant? Even you, the elite Anbu Captain assigned to protect the Third Hokage, have come. I doubt you're only here to deliver an order. You're also here to supervise the battle, aren't you?"
"You're overthinking it. It's just that our opponent is the Third Tsuchikage. In Konoha, the only ones qualified to fight him are the Sannin and Lord Minato, and then there's..."
Before he could finish, Elephant saw Hanazuki raise a hand to stop him.
"Spare me the pleasantries. The Flying Thunder God Technique isn't a Space-Time Ninjutsu without weaknesses when it comes to Dust Release."
"Tell the Third Hokage that I can only delay the enemy for a while and tie down some of their forces. I'm afraid I can't provide any other support."
His presence vanished. Elephant looked up again, but Uchiha Hanazuki had already disappeared, along with the ninja pouch and kunai that had been on the cabinet nearby.
"What an incredible Body Flicker Technique. No wonder Lord Third specifically assigned him to hold off the Third Tsuchikage. A genius of the Uchiha Clan, huh?"
Elephant's expression shifted beneath his mask. In the end, he chose to leave, as if wary of the unremarkable little house.
Meanwhile, members of the Hyuga Clan, the Aburame Clan, the Uchiha Clan, and Konoha's other prominent clans all headed to the battlefield at the Hokage's summons.
The forces gathered on the battlefield were all elite, but Iwagakure still had the advantage in numbers. The balance of victory gradually tipped in their favor.
The border of the Land of Earth was covered in yellow earth and rocks. Gusts of sand swept across the desolate land. Though the Land of Earth was one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, its power surpassed that of the Land of Wind and the Land of Water.
But this prosperity had been built on pushing its internal conflicts onto smaller nations and using wars and unrest in other countries to enrich itself.
Ōnoki of Both Scales: a title that praised the Third Tsuchikage's exceptional diplomatic skill. His name also represented the Kekkei Genkai passed down in the Land of Earth: Dust Release.
Near the border, numerous shinobi in red uniforms and Iwagakure Forehead Protectors stood on guard, waiting for orders from the short, old man with the bulbous nose at their head.
"I never thought these old bones of mine would have to go to the battlefield in person. I wonder if I'll ever get another chance to meet Sarutobi Hiruzen in the Land of Fire... Who's there?"
"Even in your old age, you're still the Third Tsuchikage, and you deserve to be taken seriously. But seeing the Third Hokage may be difficult. Not everyone has the resolve to go to the battlefield in person, like you."